The last emperor Pu Yi re-entered the Forbidden City in his later years, and when faced with an exhibit in front of him, he actually called "this is a night pot". When the experts next to them heard this, they were all stunned and speechless for a while. How could this former emperor call an overtly displayed vase a "night pot"? What incredible scene happened? What kind of story and reason are hidden behind Pu Yi's bizarre words and deeds? Let us find out.
Pu Yi's childhood life before he ascended the throne
During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, an ordinary little boy was born in an ordinary family in Beijing, and no one thought that the fate of this child would be closely linked to the royal family. He was the last emperor Pu Yi, and his name at that time was Aixin Jueluo Qingui.
Pu Yi was born in 1906, his father was Aixin Jueluo Zaize, and his mother was Su Jiashi. Zai Ze was the regent at the time, second only to the emperor, while Su Jiashi was the niece of the Empress Dowager Cixi. As soon as he was born, Pu Yi had an extremely prestigious bloodline.
In those days, the continuation of the royal family was a top priority. Emperor Guangxu died young, leaving no heirs. In order to ensure that the Qing Dynasty would not fall forever, the Empress Dowager Cixi had to personally select a suitable crown prince to inherit the throne.
Among the royal family, Pu Yi is undoubtedly the best candidate. Not only was he born in a regent family, but his mother was the niece of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and his blood was pure. What's more, Pu Yi was born at a time when Cixi was dying, and she wanted to raise the future crown prince herself.
In this way, the giant wheel of fate began to roll slowly towards Pu Yi. In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), the Empress Dowager Cixi issued an order to bring Puyi, who had just been born, into the Forbidden City and raise and educate her personally.
This decision was undoubtedly the result of careful consideration by Cixi. She realized that she was getting old, and in order to ensure that the Qing Dynasty's country would not fall forever, she had to identify a suitable heir as soon as possible and personally train him to become a generation of Ming monarchs.
However, this decision brought great shock and sadness to Pu Yi's family. When Pu Yi's mother, Su Jiashi, learned the news, she was so grief-stricken that she almost collapsed. She never imagined that her own flesh and blood would be taken away from her side.
Pu Yi, who was only two years old at the time, seemed to be aware of the fate of being separated from his mother, and he cried incessantly, desperately clutching his mother's clothes and refusing to leave. In the end, under the persuasion of the nurse Wang Jiao, Pu Yi was taken out of his mother's arms and embarked on a long journey to the Forbidden City.
In this way, Pu Yi began his new life in the Forbidden City. As the future crown prince, he was cared for and cared for. However, at the same time, he also lost the family affection and love he deserved, and began a special life isolated from the outside world and could only rely on palace attendants.
Pu Yi's short reign
On November 14, 1908, Emperor Guangxu died of lung disease at the age of 37. Emperor Guangxu had no children, and in order to ensure that the imperial rule was endless, the Empress Dowager Cixi had to pass the two-year-old Pu Yi to Emperor Tongzhi Zaichun, so that Pu Yi could legitimately inherit the throne.
Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun was originally the eldest son of Emperor Guangxu, but he died in 1875 at the age of 19. In order to give Pu Yi an orthodox channel for succession to the throne, the Empress Dowager Cixi decreed that Pu Yi be succeeded to the late Zaichun and become his "heir".
This succession ceremony was solemnly held in the Forbidden City. On the day of the ceremony, the Empress Dowager Cixi personally presided over the ceremony, hugged Pu Yi on the dragon chair, and announced that Pu Yi was "enthroned" as emperor. Subsequently, Pu Yi was given the new name of "Aixin Jueluo Puyi", which means "inheritance of the lineage".
Despite this, Pu Yi's real power after ascending the throne was worthless. He was only a three-year-old child, and he had no control over the government at all. In fact, the power of the court was still in the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and Pu Yi was just a puppet emperor.
After Pu Yi nominally ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to consolidate her dominance, made another major decision - to let the late Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun manipulate the government from behind the scenes.
Although Jae-chun had been dead for many years, the Empress Dowager Cixi still put him in nominal control. All major affairs of the government must follow the instructions and wills of Jaechun before his death. And these "testaments" and "wills" of Zaichun are naturally from the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Through this ingenious arrangement, the Empress Dowager Cixi successfully overthrew Puyi's power and added a layer of legitimacy to her own autocratic rule.
In this case, Pu Yi, as a young emperor, completely lost his real power. His daily life is surrounded by palace people and eunuchs, living a life isolated from the outside world.
Occasionally, some major court and political affairs require him to come forward, but they are only symbolically stamped with a seal, and the real decision-making power is in the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi. This situation lasted until the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, when Pu Yi was forced to abdicate.
Pu Yi's life after his abdication
On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, kicking off the Xinhai Revolution. Subsequently, all parts of the country responded to the call of revolution and declared independence one after another. The rule of the Qing Dynasty has existed in name only.
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed uprising led by the Wuchang New Army against Qing rule. The reason for this was that the Forces nouvelles were deprived of their salaries, which caused them to be dissatisfied. Under the leadership of Huang Xing, Li Chunfu and others, the new army finally rose up and occupied the city of Wuchang.
This incident was like a thunderclap that shocked the whole country. Immediately afterwards, in response to the call of the revolution, various localities declared their independence and formed military governments. The rule of the Qing Dynasty has existed in name only.
Faced with such a grim situation, both the Empress Dowager Cixi and Pu Yi had nothing to do. Finally, under the persuasion of Yuan Shikai and others, Pu Yi issued the famous "Edict of Qin" on February 12, 1912, announcing his abdication.
In this way, the Qing Dynasty's nearly 300-year reign came to an end. At the age of six, Pu Yi became the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the last ruling emperor in Chinese history.
After his abdication, Pu Yi was placed under house arrest in the Forbidden City for a time, living in isolation. In 1924, he was forced to leave the Forbidden City and go to Rehe. In 1925, Pu Yi was forced to leave Rehe and go to Tianjin.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, Pu Yi was imprisoned in Xilong Bay. In 1950, he was transferred to Wanping County, a western suburb of Beijing. There, Pu Yi began a long life in labor reform.
At first, Pu Yi lived a completely different life than before, needing to cook and do laundry by himself. He once complained: "How should I live without them (the eunuch attendants), I have never left them." ＂
In order to help Pu Yi get rid of his old habits, the staff of the management center specially arranged for a eunuch Li Guoxiong to teach Pu Yi to take care of himself within a month. At the beginning, Pu Yi's self-care ability was very poor, and there were often jokes such as wearing clothes backwards and stacking quilts crookedly.
But after a month of study, Pu Yi finally mastered basic life skills. From then on, he began a new life of labor reform in the management center. This continued until 1959, when Pu Yi was granted amnesty and left the prison.
Pu Yi returned to the Forbidden City in his later years
In 1959, Pu Yi was granted amnesty, ending a nine-year life in a labor camp. From then on, he began a new life as a commoner.
Although he has been far away from the royal family, Pu Yi's memories of the Forbidden City and that period of imperial life have always been indelible. He often misses the bits and pieces of his childhood in the palace, and those palace objects have a special meaning to him.
In 1963, Pu Yi bought a ticket to return to the Forbidden City for the first time as an ordinary tourist. Walking through the familiar palace gate and seeing the palace where he once lived, Pu Yi's heart couldn't help but have mixed feelings.
This former royal garden has become a tourist attraction for visitors to see. Pu Yi had to buy a ticket to visit every attraction in an orderly manner, just like other tourists.
During one visit, a ridiculous anecdote happened. When Pu Yi came to an exhibition hall and saw a beautiful vase, he suddenly blurted out: "This is not a vase, it is a night pot!"
The tour guides and experts next to them were all shocked when they heard this. They looked at each other and were speechless for a while.
As ordinary people, they naturally can't understand the deep meaning of Pu Yi's remarks. In their opinion, it is clearly a priceless antique vase in front of them, how can it be a "night pot"?
Seeing everyone's puzzled faces, Pu Yi couldn't help laughing. It turned out that when he was a child, this "vase" was used by him as a "night pot".
As a naughty child, Pu Yi often used the precious utensils in the palace as toys. And this "vase" became his "night pot", which was used to hold some small things.
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Hearing this explanation, everyone present was amused. It turned out that when the former emperor was in the palace, he was also a naughty child! From Pu Yi's mouth, everyone seemed to see a brand-new Forbidden City, a living, vivid and interesting scene of royal life.